Some interesting points have been raised here.
- Why fire a member and "plan something cool", unless there's more to come. I do think this is the third wave of CH. It will be different, but that's more than okay for me.
- I've been wondering about Nick's opinion on Mark's removal ever since the news came out. Any guesses? Because I'm confused. I've always found Nick a very loyal (and rather sensitive, for a lack of a better term) kind of guy.
- Reasons for not liking the idea of "the all dancing all singing family band" merging with CH: Apart from the forced vibe that was on stage everytime I've seen them (Look, family, isn't it all so wonderful and funny), I just find it such a waste of an opportunity. I could honestly live with losing Mark, if Neil brought in some exciting musician(s) from "outside" (I've recently listened to 7 Worlds Collide again, and loved Johnny Marr's twist on some classics, among many examples). From what I've seen, that is so not going to happen with Liam, apart from some nice stage gimmicks. (Sorry, I've got nothing against him, but it just didn't work for me.) Having said that, Elroy on drums is great, and his unpretentious deadpan humour works well with/against Neil's.
I do hope as many of us as possible approach this with an open mind, but if it turns out to become the family band version of CH, I also find it completely legitimate that those of us who have seen versions of this combo live are a bit apprehensive.